


How About James

by MyGinevra



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 10:14:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30070713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyGinevra/pseuds/MyGinevra
Summary: Ginny springs a surprise on Harry, and now he must make a major decision, and pretty quickly.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Kudos: 6





	How About James

**Author's Note:**

> This fic, in a slightly different version and under the title “Plans Change,” was an entry in the Elopement Challenge on Sink Into Your Eyes (siye.co.uk).

People were moving away from the White Tomb, back to the castle or towards the gates and Hogsmeade Station: Dumbledore’s funeral was over. All the people sitting near Harry and Ginny had gotten up and were gone. Ron and Hermione were standing next to the lake; Ron was holding her while she wept.

Ginny could tell that Harry wanted to say something; he was fidgeting in his seat, nervous, trying to get up his nerve. She was certain what he was going to say. She had to speak now before it was too late.

He turned to her. “Listen, Ginny—”“Harry,” Ginny said. “I need to—”

“Ginny, wait. I have to say something. I—”

“I’m pregnant.”

Harry stared at her, his eyes wide, his mouth still open, the words unspoken. She wondered if he had heard her.

“I’m pregnant,” she said again.

Harry’s mouth closed, then opened again. Finally a word came out. “What?”

“I’m pregnant.” She still wasn’t sure if he had understood. “I went to see Madame Pomfrey yesterday. I was pretty sure, but she said definitely. She asked if I wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl, but I told her I wanted us to hear it together.”

“Wait, you told Pomfrey? Why did you do that? How can you be pregnant?”

She smiled. “I think you know how.”

“Well, yeah, but . . .” Harry suddenly scowled. “I thought you were using that spell. You said you were.”

“I did, but I told you it wasn’t perfect. We agreed—”

“Ginny! No! I can’t do it.” He stopped and looked away, but then turned back. He was frightened, and Ginny took his hand.

“Sweetheart, we can be happy about this.”

He shook his head, but dropped his eyes. “No. Ginny, I’m going away. I’m going away to find Voldemort. Do you have any idea what that means? I can’t have this hanging over me.” He stopped and looked at her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. But . . .”

“Harry, do you think I didn’t know? Of course that’s what you’re going to do. And my first wish, before I knew that I was . . that we have a baby, was to come with you, to help you. But now I can’t help you that way. Now I have to be where it’s safe for our child. You have to do it, you have to kill him and you have to come back to me. To us. And you will.”

Harry was silent. They could hear Ron and Hermione talking quietly to each other. Farther away, behind the rows of chairs, Rufus Scrimgeour was standing with a group of Ministry types, including Percy Weasley. The Minister kept glancing over at Harry. Ginny glared back at him and he turned away. She said to Harry, “What are we going to do?”

The speech that Harry had rehearsed in his head so many times, the goodbye he thought he would have to say, ever since Dumbledore had died, was gone. But the shock from Ginny’s announcement had, he realized, destroyed the logic of the goodbye. Now he knew, beyond question, that Ginny would be waiting for him, and she would not be alone. His child would be with her. The glorious happiness he had felt every day, ever since their kiss after the Ravenclaw match, came flooding back, obliterating all fear of the future, because with two words, Ginny had shown him what the future now held for him.

“Come on,” he said, pulling her out of the row and up the lawn towards the castle. “We only have an hour before the Express leaves.”

“Harry, wait!” Ginny tried to pull him to a stop, but he wouldn’t. “What are you doing? Where are we going?” She looked back and saw Ron and Hermione watching them go.

Harry was almost running now, and Ginny almost stumbled. He held her arm, keeping her from falling. “To see Pomfrey,” he said. “I want to know if it’s a boy or a girl. And then . . .”

“Then what? Harry, what are you talking about? Wait!”

He wouldn’t answer or stop, and they were soon at the castle and inside the entrance hall. Only a few people were there, mostly teachers, standing in small groups, talking. A few students were hurrying to their dormitories to fetch a last minute item before they left Hogwarts, maybe for good. No one paid Harry and Ginny any attention. They spotted the school nurse in front of the doors to the Great Hall talking with Professor McGonagall.

“Good!” said Harry, stopping just inside the entrance. “I wanted to see McGonagall, too.”  
“What for?”

Harry pulled her away from the doors; Ginny saw the new Headmistress look over at them, but Harry pulled her farther into a corner, out of the way and out of sight. He held both of her hands and looked directly into her brown eyes. “Ginny, will you marry me?”

“What?” Ginny giggled, remembering Harry’s response a few minutes ago to her own bombshell. “I mean . . . Why? How ? What are you saying?”

“I can’t get down on my knees here,” he said, “and I don’t have a ring. But I’ll get one, I promise.” He rubbed her left ring finger. “Ginny, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Ginny thought for a moment, and then it all came to her, what Harry was doing, and she knew it was right; in fact, it was perfect. She peered into his green eyes, happier than she had ever been, and said,” Yes, I will marry you, Harry.”

He gave her a quick kiss and grinned. “More of that later. We’ll also have to figure out what to tell everyone.”

“We should tell Ron and Hermione, and they can help us decide about my family. Our family.”

“Yes, our family.” Harry, feeling quite happy himself, kissed her again. “Okay, then. Shall we?”

They headed over to the doors to the Great Hall, where the nurse and Professor McGonagall greeted them. “ Why are you here?” the Headmistress said “The Express is leaving soon.”

“We know,” Harry said, then turned to the nurse. “Madame Pomfrey, Ginny told me what you told her yesterday. And now we want to know the rest. But can we do it somewhere more, um, private? And, Professor,” he said to McGonagall, “can you come, too?”

The nurse looked surprised. “Right in here,” she said, and pushed open the door and they entered the Great Hall; McGonagall, looking puzzled, followed them. The Hall was empty except for the four House tables and the staff table up front. The enchanted ceiling showed a clear blue sky. Ginny and Harry closed the door behind them. Ginny looked at Harry, who nodded.  
“Professor,” Ginny said, “we’re pregnant.”

“Well!” said the Headmistress, no longer puzzled, “this is news. Do your family know, Miss Weasley? And may I ask when the blessed event will be?”

Ginny and Harry looked at each other once more and they both blushed. “Er, well, I, uh,” Harry said.

“Next February, around the middle of the month,” Ginny said, and added, thinking quickly, “I want to wait until I get home to tell my family. I think that will be better for everyone. And, Madame Pomfrey, now can you tell me, I mean us, if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“I could have told you yesterday. A boy.”

Harry tugged on Ginny’s hand. “There’s something else we need to do, and we don’t have much time. Professor,” he said to McGonagall, “can we see you in your office? It will only take a minute, I think.”

They left the nurse and went up to the office that Harry had spent so much time in this past year. The silver trinkets and machines were still quietly whirling away on a table off to the side, the Sorting Hat slouched silently on its shelf, and the Pensieve glowed silver in its cabinet, but Fawkes’s perch was empty.

Professor McGonagall stood in the center of the room and turned to Harry and Ginny. “What do you want? I don’t have much time.”

“Professor,” Harry said, taking Ginny’s hand, “can you marry us?”

McGonagall’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure, Mr. Potter. And you, Miss Weasley? Yes, I am empowered by the Ministry to marry students, even if they are underage, and especially if they are, shall we say, in certain circumstances. But I must ask, are you both absolutely certain? And how will your family feel, Miss Weasley, being excluded from the wedding of their only daughter and sister?”

“I know,” Ginny said. “We’ll have a proper wedding later, after this is all over. But—”

“After what is all over,” McGonagall said sharply.

Ginny hesitated; Harry spoke. “I have to do something that Professor Dumbledore wanted me to do. He spent all year teaching me about it. I’m sorry, Professor, I can’t tell you what it was, I can’t tell anyone but Ginny. And when I found out today that she’s . . . that we’re having a baby, I decided that we had to get married first.”

“And this is what you want, Miss Weasley? Even knowing what your husband has in front of him? I’m guessing that this task has its risks.”

Ginny put her hand on Harry’s arm, stopping him from speaking. “My family might not want this, but it’s what I want. Professor, it’s important.” She looked at Harry for help.

“All I can say is that it is going to be dangerous. But if I know that Ginny is here, waiting for me, that will help. A lot.”

“She may not be here,” McGonagall said dryly. “We normally do not have pregnant students taking classes, some of which, you may recall, can also be a little risky. But,” she went on, “I understand your point. And I trust Albus Dumbledore. Very well, I will marry you. We need a witness, though.” She frowned. “And we have even less time now.”

From around the room they heard small noises, throats being cleared, several “ahems,” and discrete coughs. They looked up. Every picture frame on the walls was occupied, and every portrait of every former headmaster and headmistress was there.

“It will be an honor,” said Amando Dippet, inclining his head to Ginny and Harry, “for all of us. Proceed, Headmistress.”

“Hear hear!” and “Please!” and “By all means!” came from around the walls. Harry grinned at Ginny.

“We don’t have a ring,” he said to the Headmistress. “Is that a problem.”

She arched her eyebrows at Ginny, who shook her head. “Let us proceed, then. Stand here.” She placed them before her. Harry took Ginny’s hand. McGonagall placed her own hand on top of their joined hands. “This will be quick. As Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I declare that, by the laws of our world, you, Harry James Potter, and you, Ginevra Molly Weasley, are joined as husband and wife, and Merlin knows what the outcome of this wedding will be.” She waved her wand over them and two stars fell on their heads.

“I apologize for the paucity of stars,” the Headmistress said, “but that’s all I can muster on the spur of the moment.” She paused while they gazed at her. “Kiss your bride, Harry,” she tisked.

“Oh, right.” Harry took his wife in an embrace, and applause rang out from around the walls as the snog proceeded. After a minute Ginny tapped him on the back. “The train,” she murmured.

They left the office to another round of applause and the tiniest of smiles from Minerva McGonagall, and hurried downstairs and outside. A few stragglers were on their way down the drive to the gates, and Harry and Ginny followed them. “What do we tell Ron and Hermione?” Ginny asked as they trotted along. “They’ll want to know where we were.”

“They will,” Harry said. “I think we should tell them everything, like you said. I just hope Ron doesn’t lose it when he hears.”

“Me too. But I think hearing about his nephew will help.”

“I’m not so sure. He’s been barely holding back his opinion about our dating.” Harry frowned. “He’s so possessive, it’s ridiculous.”

“And that’s why he’ll be okay. He’ll want to take care of his nephew, and of me. He may even starts pampering me.”

“That would be a first.”

They passed through the gate at the tall pillars and approached Hogsmeade Station. Harry took Ginny’s hand. “I’m also going to tell them that I’m going after Voldemort.”

“They’ll want to come with you.”

“Yeah, I know. We’ll see about that.”

They arrived at Hogsmeade Station as the last passengers were boarding. They spotted Ron hanging out a window; he waved, and moment later they were breathlessly inside the compartment with him and Hermione. “Where the hell were you?” he asked, apparently more annoyed than worried. “What was so important in the castle that you almost missed the train?”

As they sat, the whistle blew and the Express started up. Ron frowned, but Hermione had a thoughtful expression as she gazed at them.

“We had something to do,” Harry said. “We, uh, we’re, uh . . .”

“We’re married,” Ginny said. “Professor McGonagall married us.”

Ron rose from his seat, his face gone red. He stood over them, swaying as the train picked up speed. He grabbed the overhead to steady himself. “She what!? You’re what!?” He reached down, grabbed Harry’s cloak, and pulled him out of his seat. “You bastard!” he screamed, right in Harry’s face. “I’ll—I’ll—”

Ginny sprang up and pushed him back. “Ron!” she shouted. “Stop it! He’s my husband! He’s the father of my child!”

Ginny clapped her hand over her mouth and looked at Harry, her eyes wide, then out into the corridor. No one was there, but she turned to Harry, a stricken look on her face. “Oh, no! I’m sorry. I hope no one heard me.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “But—”

“You son of a bitch!” Ron screamed; he had been continuing to glare at Harry, and now he lunged at him again. “You scum! I’ll kill you! I’ll—”

Both Ginny and Hermione grabbed him and managed to shove him back into his seat while Harry fended off his wildly swinging fists. Ron’s face was even redder now, and his eyes were wild; spittle dribbled down his chin and he wiped it off with the back of his hand. He pointed a shaking finger at Harry, who was glowering back at him. “You made her do it! It’s your fault. My sister is—is . . .” He stopped and looked open-mouthed at Ginny. “Wait. What did you say?”

“I said I’m pregnant and Harry is the father of your nephew.” She took a breath. “Stop screaming, Ron. No one else needs to know this.”

“Our parents need to know. What are you going to tell them?” Ron pointed at Harry. “You’re in big trouble, mate. Do you think Bill or George or Fred are going to take this sitting down? And just wait till Charlie finds out. He’ll come back here before you can say ‘oops, sorry, I knocked up your sister,’ and beat the crap out of you.” Still pointing, he leaned menacingly toward Harry. “Maybe I’ll do it for him.”

Harry smacked aside Ron’s finger and Ron lunged again, but both Hermione and Ginny grabbed him. Everyone stood and everyone spoke at once.

“Ron, for goodness sake! Stop it!”

“You’re acting like a stupid idiot!”

“Just watch it, mate!”

“I’ll say whatever I bloody want!”

The compartment door opened. They all stopped and looked; Bill and Fleur stood there looking shocked. Bill stepped inside, pulled Fleur after him and closed the door. “What on earth is going on?” he said. “Everyone in the car can hear you.”

They were silent. Hermione began twisting her fingers. Ron continued to glower at Harry who glowered back, but turned to Bill with a defiant look and took Ginny’s hand. Ginny took a breath and sat, pulling Harry down next to her. “We were having a little discussion,” she said.

“It sounded more like a row,” Bill said.

Fleur was standing nearest the door. She stepped around Bill and said to Ginny, “Cherie, what is the matter? I thought I ‘eard you say something about ‘Arry being . . . I don’t know, sometimes I am not understanding what someone says in English. Fleur smiled and looked around the compartment. The mood changed; some kind of veela magic was being worked, Harry thought, because he suddenly didn’t feel angry or scared, as he had a few moments ago. Ron, too, seemed less upset. He coughed into his fist and sat; Hermione joined him. Finally Ginny spoke, looking at Bill.

“Harry and I are married,” she said. “Professor McGonagall married us in her office right after the funeral.”

A grin broke out on Bill’s face. He took Ginny in a hug, then grabbed Harry and hugged him, too. “Wow! That’s brilliant! Harry, that makes you my brother-in-law!”

“I guess it does,” Harry said, turning a little red.

“And Ron’s, too.”

“Yeah.” Harry glanced at Ron, who looked away, out the the window at the passing pine forest.

Fleur was watching Ginny. “Ginny,” she said softly, “what is it? There is something else, isn’t there?”

“What do you mean?” Ginny wouldn’t meet Fleur’s eyes.

“There must ‘ave been a reason why you and ‘Arry go married.” 

Tears suddenly came to Ginny’s eyes. She reached for Bill and grasped his hand. “I’m p-pregnant,” she stammered as tears ran down her face.

“Oh, darling!” Fleur threw her arms around Ginny, who tried to pull away although Fleur would not let her. “But this is wonderful! Is it a boy or a girl, and when is the date?”

Bill now had an even bigger grin on his face. He reached out, took Harry’s had, and started pumping it. “A baby! Mum will be over the moon. Her first grandchild!”

“Wait,” said Ginny, finally extricating herself from Fleur’s embrace and wiping her face, “do you really think she’ll be okay? And what about Dad? And the others, what about, erm, Charlie?” She gave Harry a nervous glance. “Won’t he be angry? At Harry?”

“No, for goodness sake,” Bill scoffed. “Everyone will be ecstatic.”

“Of course!” Fleur declared. “There is so much bad news these days, this is a little sunbeam of ‘aptness. Oh, Ginny!” She embraced Ginny again, and this time Ginny returned the hug.

Bill and Fleur soon left after Ginny told them the due date and that it was a boy, and they promised not to tell anyone. The four settled into their seats, but Ron, sitting next to the window, stared out and wouldn’t look back. After a few minutes Hermione broke the silence.

“What are you going to do when we get to London?” she asked Harry. “There’s something else now that you have to consider, Ginny’s safety. If it gets out that she’s married to you, she’ll become a target.”

“I don’t care,” said Ginny.

“I care,” said Harry.

“I can take care of myself, and besides, my family will be there. I’ll be okay.” Ginny tossed her head, and her ponytail flew up and smacked Harry in the face. He laughed and kissed her. Ron squirmed in his seat, but then stood and, without a word, walked out of the compartment. He disappeared down the corridor.

“For Merlin’s sake,” said Ginny, frowning. “He needs to grow up.”

Hermione sprang up and went after him. Harry leaned out the door and peered down the corridor. “He’s going into the next car,” he said to Ginny. “I hope no one else in the family is like this.”

“Maybe I’ll ask Bill to be with us when we tell Mum and Dad.”

“You don’t think Charlie will be mad, do you?”

Ginny laughed. “Bill said no. But I don’t think he would hurt my husband or,” she leaned in and kissed him back “the father of his nephew.”

They both looked up as the door opened, but it wasn’t Ron or Hermione. Gregory Goyle stood there, an unpleasant smirk on his beefy face. Behind him, Vincent Crabbe peered around his bulky friend. Harry reached into his robe and put his hand on his wand.

“Well, look who’s here,” Goyle said. “Potter and his little pet. Or should I say his little toy? I heard you’ve been visiting the nurse, Weasel. Is something going on? Did something happen you didn’t expect?”

Harry stood. “Watch your fat mouth, Goyle, or I’ll put my fist down it.”

“Yeah? You and what army?” Goyle stepped into the compartment and, as he moved towards Harry, Crabbe also pushed in. His wand was already out and before Harry could move, he and Ginny were facing two drawn wands. Harry pulled Ginny back so that she was partly behind him.

“You’re asking for a lot of trouble,” he said.

“Looks like you’re the one in trouble.” Goyle was still smirking. “What about it, Weasel? Got a bun in the oven? A little Potter up your nookie?”

Harry lunged at him, but a red flame shot from the Slytherin’s wand and Harry was thrown back into Ginny; the window rattled as they both hit it. Goyle advanced and stood over them; Harry was gasping for breath, holding his stomach which felt like it was on fire. He felt Ginny’s hand in the middle of his back, trying to push him away. He wondered where her wand was.

Suddenly both Crabbe and Goyle shot upward and slammed headfirst into the ceiling. Harry heard two loud cracks as their skulls hit, but instead of falling to the floor, they remained up in the air, their arms and legs flailing, as Hermione, with Ron right behind her, stepped into the compartment. Both of their wands were aimed at the Slytherins.

Hermione lowered her wand and the two boys fell, thudding on the floor; they lay there moaning. Harry grinned over them at his friends. “Nice work, and just in time.” But he had to stop from saying more when Ginny pushed him aside. Goyle’s hand was splayed on the floor, and just as he was looking up, she stepped on it, hard. There was another cracking sound, but before he could scream, she pointed her wand at him.

“ _Silencio_!” she snarled. Goyle’s mouth opened but nothing came out. “Bastard!”  
“What should we do with them?” Hermione said. “There are Aurors on the train.”

“I say we chuck them out the window,” Ron suggested.

“Ron, be serious.”

“I am.”

“I’ll go find an Auror.” Ginny reached down and took the wands from both Slytherins and tucked them inside her robes. “But I’m keeping these. If they want them back, they can come ask for them.” She stepped on each body as she left, eliciting grunts of escaping breath.

Ron sat and put his feet up on Crabbe’s body; Harry took the seat across from him and also put his feet up. Hermione sat next to Ron.

“So,” he said. “When’s the baby due?”

Harry and Hermione both grinned. “The middle of February,” Harry said.

“Uh-hun. Well . . . St. Valentine’s Day, maybe?”

“Maybe.”

“Will she go back to school? I’ve never seen a preggers student at Hogwarts.”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her.”

At that moment they heard people running down the corridor and an Auror burst into the compartment, followed by two more; Ginny brought up the rear. The first Auror, a thin, blonde witch, bent down and shoved her wand into Crabbe’s gut, muttered, “Rennervate!” and hauled him up off the floor. She dragged him stumbling out into the corridor where she waited while the second Auror, a stocky, bearded wizard, did the same with Goyle. The four of them disappeared down the corridor in the direction they had come from.

The third Auror was a tall, slender witch with dark skin and a brisk manner. “Is everyone okay?” she asked. “Miss Weasley said they had stunned you, Mr. Potter.”

Harry rubbed his middle where Goyle’s spell had hit. “It’s a little sore, but I’ve had worse. What are you going to do with them?”

“Unfortunately, not much.” She scowled. “The Minister of Magic is not anxious to antagonize certain, shall we say, prominent families. But they won’t cause any more trouble on the train. We’ll keep them in a compartment. We’ve heard from other passengers that they were being obnoxious. Well . . .” She smiled. “Have a pleasant trip.”

“Who is she?” Harry said after she left. “I never saw her before.”

“She’s Shaklebolt’s girlfriend,” Ron said. “I heard Dad say that she was in charge of the train. I still think we should have thrown them out the window.”

“I agree.” Harry turned to Ginny. “So, do you still have their wands?” She smiled and patted her robe. Harry went on. “Ron wanted to know if you’re going back to school in the fall.”

Ginny turned her smile on her brother. “I don’t know. But why do you ask.”

“Oh, I was just wondering.” Ron was silent, then said to Harry, “You’re my brother-in-law, too.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“I’ve always wanted to be Uncle Ron. I’m taking him to his first Quidditch match, by the way.”

No one spoke for a moment, until Ginny leaned over and kissed her brother’s cheek. “Oh, Ron,” she said, leaning back, “I can’t tell you how much that means to me.” She paused. “Maybe Chudley will have won a match by them.” Everyone laughed.

“It means a lot to me, too,” said Harry, a little thickly. “Thanks.”

“When are you going to tell everyone?” Ron asked. “How long will you be able to keep it . . .” He glanced at Ginny’s middle. “I mean . . . when will it . . . “

“Not for a few months,” Ginny said. “But Bill and Fleur also know, so I can’t really keep it a secret.” She turned to Harry. “What do you think?”

Harry had an unhappy expression; he knew that Ginny was not going to like what he had to say.. “It’s up to you. I have to go with the Dursleys. I can’t be at the Burrow until my birthday.”

“Oh.” Ginny sat back and bit her lip. “I wanted you to be with me.”

“I know. But I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Harry hesitated, but when Ginny scowled at him, he glanced out the window into the corridor.; no one was there. He told her about Horcruxes, the secret that Dumbledore had made him promise not to tell anyone except Ron and Hermione. And he told her about the blood protection of his mother’s sacrifice. When he was finished, he took her hand and said to Ron and Hermione, “When Ginny told me she was pregnant, I asked her to marry me. Now we both know that she’ll be waiting when I come back.”

Hermione spoke. “That’s the point, isn’t it? Back from where? You have plans, I know you do.”

Harry glanced into the corridor again. “I’m not going back to Hogwarts next year, no matter what happens. I’m going to do what Dumbledore wanted me to do, find the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort.”

“And we’re coming with you,” said Ron.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, we are. Listen, mate,” Ron said, leaning forward and once again pointing at Harry, “don’t start giving us any of your self-sacrificing, holier-than-thou crap, or I’ll tell Charlie that you knocked up his sister and now you’re leaving her and running off to do the most dangerous thing on the planet and you won’t let us come with you. He will beat the stuffing out of you, just to knock some sense into your thick skull.” Ron sat back. “Actually, he might not be the only one. Fred and George might also want a piece of you.”

Harry, with a disgruntled expression, looked at Ginny and saw that she was grinning. “So the whole family are okay with that,” he said.

She laughed. “I’ll clean up the mess after Charlie gets done with you.” Everyone laughed.

“There is no way you can do it alone, Harry,” Hermione said. “In fact, you don’t even know where to begin.”

“Yes, I do.” Harry pulled something out of his pocket and held it up: the locket. “I—we—have to find out who RAB is. There can’t be all that many people with those initials who knew Voldemort.”

“What is it?” Ginny said, pointing to the locket. “We had a distant cousin with those initials, Sirius Black’s brother, actually, Regulus Arcturus. He was a Death Eater but they killed him.”

“Merlin!” Harry gaped at her. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. Mum and Dad talked about him when it happened.”

“We have to go to Grimmauld Place,” declared Hermione. “I’ll bet the real locket is there.”

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Harry said. “First I have to go back to Privet Drive.”

“And then,” said Ron, “there’s the wedding. The other wedding.” He snickered at Ginny. “You and Harry can pretend it’s yours.”

Ginny ignored him and pointed to the locket again. “What is that? What does it have to do with Regulus Black?”

“This is a fake. The real one is a Horcrux,” Harry said. “Regulus stole it before they killed him.” He looked down at it. “Dumbledore and I brought it back to the castle the night he was killed.”

Again they sat in silence, each with their own thoughts. After a while they started talking about the weeks to come and Harry’s disgusting relatives. But then, as the Hogwarts Express began passing through the outskirts of London, Harry and Ginny again grew silent. Finally, even Ron stopped chattering, when no one was responding to him. Ginny leaned her head on Harry’s shoulder. They stayed seated as the train pulled into King’s Cross, and when it stopped, they watched as Hermione and Ron took their trunks down from the overhead and left. Out in the corridor, students and their families filed past the compartment, leaving them alone on the train.

“Well,” Harry said, pulling Ginny closer, “I’ll see you in a few weeks.” Ginny didn’t speak, but lifted her face and Harry kissed her softly.

She put her head back on his shoulder. “I’ll miss you.” She sighed. “We should go. Everyone will be waiting for us. I can’t imagine what Fred and George are going to say when we tell them.”

Harry chuckled. “They’ll want to name the baby, probably something outrageous.”

Ginny looked up at Harry. “We’ll have to come up with a name first.”

Harry thought for a moment. “How about James, for my father?”

“I like that. Okay.” She had a twinkle in her eye. “Let’s go introduce James to the family.” Harry laughed and kissed her. Together they Levitated their trunks and Hedwig’s cage from the overhead and left the compartment.


End file.
